My issues with balanced tension...

I have had two basses recently that I strung with GHS Pressurewound strings. They feel very balanced from string to string to me and I really dig them. One was a 4 string and the other a 5 string strung E-C. I'm getting a Valenti 35 inch scale 5er and I was going to go with a balanced tension set of nickel rounds. Here's the problem; I don't like the gauges. If I go with a somewhat normal size B string (.130 or less) I have to go with pretty tiny strings for the E-G. If I go with a normal for the E-G (45-105) I have to get a HUGE B string.

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I personally think a .135 is the perfect B string for 35" scale. Anything less is just flop city, sounds muddy, and I can't slap it.

I also have realized that I can't stand anything bigger than a .60 D string or .80 A string, especially on a 35" scale. I run a custom D'Addario 42/55/75/105 set on my 34's. On my 35's, I run almost the same but sometimes prefer a less taught .100 E string. I love the snap and punch you get from smaller A/D/G strings, but oddly enough I found the bigger .105 E to have the same 'sound' as those smaller strings. I don't know if my set is 'balanced' tension or not, but they feel great and the main thing I wanted was no difference in the sound...all strings are the same volume and all have the same amount of snap. Jason at BassStringsOnline was a great help!

You'll get used to the bigger B. You'll realize that the difference from E to B is actually about the same as from A to E... and everything is proportional. Give it time, and it will feel right. I believe that the problem you are having is simply not being used to the strings feeling so consistent.

You'll get used to the bigger B. You'll realize that the difference from E to B is actually about the same as from A to E... and everything is proportional. Give it time, and it will feel right. I believe that the problem you are having is simply not being used to the strings feeling so consistent.

I've used Circle K balanced exclusively (for roundwounds) for the last couple of years and here's what I've found:

Pre-Circle K, I liked the tension of hex core medium strings, usually with a .130 B, though occasionally with a .135. Fodera, MTD, Lo-Rider, etc...

With Circle K balanced, I've found that the .136 balanced set is perfect for my 34" basses. The .130 was too little tension (for me) and the .142 was too much.

But the .142 was great for my 1 35" bass. For whatever reason, I noticed the fatter B string far more on the other sets that I do with the Circle K's. It seem disproportionally big, but it just seems to work on the Circle K set.

Heh, making the change may require willpower. In a way you have to decide to get used to it, it may take a couple of months. I had a similar problem switching to fifths tuning, the large jumps in gauge and tonal character between adjacent strings bothered me. So i rapidly went back and forth for several years, eventually realising the lure of fifths wasn't going away i decided this was my intuitive direction and decided to get used to it. In the end i realised the tonal jumps were not a problem, it was just a case of 'getting used to it'. Looking back i wish i had just persevered with fifths right at the beginning.